TPP-NAFTA Panel Discussion

Drinker Biddle and the American Bar Association hosted a moderated panel session addressing the potential implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) should it become law and the impact it will have on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Proponents of the TPP state that it will deepen economic relations between NAFTA countries, and the Obama Administration argues that NAFTA would, in fact, be strengthened because it expressly addresses workers’ rights and environmental issues, and imposes trade sanctions for violations.

The TPP also addresses other issues not covered by NAFTA, including restrictions on activities of state-owned enterprises, protections for digital freedom by preserving free flows of information across borders and, of particular help to small and mid-sized exporters, prohibitions on rules that force businesses to locate infrastructure in the markets they seek to penetrate.

There are significant hurdles before the TPP is approved in each House of Congress in an up or down vote, pursuant to the president’s trade promotion authority, followed by several months of public and Congressional review and the publication of a U.S. International Trade Commission report on the likely impact of enactment on the U.S. economy. It also requires the approval of several other countries as well. If the TPP does become law, there are a plethora of complex questions regarding the extent certain products, transactions or services are covered.